A Message from the Director

The Covid 19 pandemic has inevitably resulted in the cancellation of all Asia Centre events for the foreseeable future. I wanted, however, to take this opportunity to thank all staff, students, guests and collaborating partners for supporting our activities over the past year and more with such dedication and enthusiasm.

Covid 19 will inevitably have long-lasting effects on the world in which we live and these will be felt in especially pressing ways in Asia. Now more than ever before there is a need for informed insight and analysis on the nature of Asian interconnectivities and Asia’s connections with the wider world – the key focus of the Sussex Asia Centre. We have seen over the past weeks and months how the concerns that lie at the heart of the research we do have relevance to the challenges facing the world today. From understanding migratory flows that connect China to the world to assessing the public health challenges of countries in Central Asia, research on Asian dynamics is of immense relevance to emergent global challenges. Against this backdrop, it is especially critical that decisions about the funding of research and the environments in which researchers share ideas are made with the long-term implications in mind and in relationship to evidence and expertise. Knee-jerk decisions will have a detrimental effect and weaken research and analysis at the time it is needed most.

The Sussex Asia Centre looks forward to playing an active role in debates about the state of research on Asia in the months to come. We anticipate resuming an active, vibrant and relevant range of events and discussions as soon as is possible.

In the meantime, I wish you and your families and friends health and security in the weeks ahead.

Professor Magnus Marsden

Director, University of Sussex Asia Centre